Guest essay

Published: May 8, 2003 8:00PM

(This is the second of three essays from the There Ought To Be A Law essay contest sponsored by the Guernsey County Bar Assocation in conjunction with the annual Law Day celebration. The Daily Jeffersonian is publishing the top three essays from this contest, and this is the second place essay).

I think there needs to be a law forcing motorcycle drivers and their passengers to wear helmets in the state and federal levels. I have many reasons why I feel this way.

Thousands of people die in motorcycle related accidents. Half of those deaths could have been prevented by wearing a helmet. Fifteen years ago highway deaths peaked to 52,000 a year and are now down to 30,000 a year. These numbers have dropped because of the seat belt law and can continue to drop with a helmet law, that forces all motorcycle drivers and passengers to wear helmets.

There are even twice as many vehicles on the highway and the numbers have dropped. These statistics are up to date for the 2001 year and are found on www.clevelandmetro.com Web site.

The benefits would be that this law can save someones life. It can also keep the driver from having severe head injuries due to motorcycle related accidents. If the seat belt law is to protect the driver and/or passenger(s) and currently has dropped the death rate then the helmet law can too.

If this law becomes enforced the driver should have to pay a fine if caught not wearing a helmet and after three times they should have their motorcycle license suspended for a certain amount of time.

For the passenger, not wearing a helmet should lead to fine. If the passenger to wear a helmet. If the law becomes enforced everyone should have to abide by the law and suffer the consequences if caught breaking the law.

The law could have an impact on those who drive and ride motorcycles. If only takes one time to be in an accident and die. A helmet can help this from happening.

Unfortunately, not all deaths can be prevented if wearing a helmet, but four out of five deaths due to motorcycle accidents could have been prevented if wearing a helmet. I believe those are really high odds and high enough to make this law active.

This law needs to be created to keep motorcycle related deaths and head injuries down. Most motorcycle drivers and passengers do wear helmets because they understand the risk they are taking if they do not, but there are some who do not understand.

This law will force all drivers and passengers to wear helmets. I thing that the State Highway Patrol, Sheriffs, and city police would enforce the law. The law needs to be enforced at the local, state, and federal levels and proposed as a federal law.

All states have a law to wear a seat belt and since this law has been passed the number of highway deaths has decreased. If we have a seat belt law that can save many lives than why not a helmet law that can save many more lives?

Many motorcycle drivers and passengers believe that you should have a choice to wear or not to wear a helmet because it is your life. If you choose not to wear a helmet you can always go off-road to ride, but even there they usually require you to have a helmet on. During motorcross races you are required to wear a helmet for your safety, so you should be required to wear a helmet at all times.

Bikers have a choice today to wear a helmet or not. When they choose they are also choosing to be left with a hospital bill or an embalming fee. Lets make it a law to only be left with a hospital bill.

I dont mean to single out bike riders because I enjoy riding myself, but before I wrap my legs around that fast, dangerous, vehicle I put a helmet on. I would rather have a couple sore muscles than turn into an organ donor and I think if those who decide to not wear a helmet thought of it this way, they would agree too.

Lets make everyone make a good decision, hospital bills, sore muscles and a helmet on their head.